


Maybe you're not so bad, after all

by OrionBloomfield



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: 5 + 1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:13:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23708185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionBloomfield/pseuds/OrionBloomfield
Summary: There was something worse than finding yourself in an awkward situation: finding yourself in an awkward situation in front of someone you hate. So why did he always have to be there whenever she made a fool out of herself?
Relationships: Fenris/Female Hawke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Maybe you're not so bad, after all

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be a fluffy '5 + 1 Things' drabble with University AU tropes, but it spiralled out of control and I couldn't stop writing.

I

It was 8.45am. Fifteen minutes until classes started. It was her first day, so she had given herself enough time to find the room and maybe get to know her new course mates. Marian Hawke had set up so many alarms to make sure she was on time, so why was no one else there? She checked her clock, then looked back at the printed-out schedule she had received during Induction Week. _Introduction to Nevarran History_ \- Room 354, Building C. She checked the plate on the door, _C354_. She looked back at the flimsy paper in her hands and checked her surroundings. The hallway was empty, a gaudy poster advertising the Student’s Union the only thing decorating the walls, the smiling students in it almost mocking her.

She groaned. First day of classes and she was late. Or early. Probably the latter, she hoped. She tried looking through the glass partition of the door but couldn’t make out anyone inside. She sheepishly nudged the door open and quickly scanned the classroom. It was empty. She quietly made her way inside and decided to sit in one of the many empty seats. It’s not like she could do anything else. No one took classes seriously the first few weeks of university, anyways. They were meant as introductions to the module, not like they would actually go over any important materials, probably why everyone was late. Right?

Five minutes until 9am and no one had showed up. Had the classes been cancelled? Why hadn’t she received an email warning her of it? She frantically went through all her emails, checking to see if there was anything. Nothing whatsoever. She let out a big sigh and resigned herself to pack all the stuff back into her backpack when she heard footsteps on the hallway. She perked up, alert. People were showing up after all! What a relief.

A young man came rushing into the room, out of breath. Hawke briefly inspected him, tan skin, tall and slender, all dressed in black, ripped skinny jeans and black leather jacket included. His hair was bleached white. She rolled her eyes, this man screamed _‘ow_ , _the_ _edge’_. She noticed his pointed ears. An elf, huh?

Still out of breath, the man looked up at the room and was taken aback by the lack of people. His eyes stopped at Hawke and he tilted his head, probably asking himself the same question she had been asking herself for the past ten minutes. With furrowed brows, he shrugged and took a seat at the end of the row she was sitting in. _Ouch, so much for making an attempt at getting to know new people on the first day_. They sat in silence for another five minutes, while she pretended to inspect her phone disinterestedly.

“You’re here for Nevarran History, right?” His voice was unexpectedly low, a certain drawl to his accent, one she couldn’t really place anywhere. Not Fereldan, that’s for sure.

She deliberately took a few seconds to put her phone back on the seat before looking to the man. “Yeah, Room 354 Building C.”

“Yeah, I’ve got the same here.” He double checked his schedule, the same one Hawke had. “Why is no one else here?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Probably hung-over from too much drinking over Fresher’s Week. Maybe too excited for classes to start that they missed the fact that today was Monday?”

The man chuckled. “Definitely the former, why would anyone willingly want to miss Nevarran History?”

“You tell me. I’m still trying to figure out how it’s related to the Business Course.”

“Business, huh? Okay, you win. At least history is somewhat related to Social Sciences.”

Hawke gave him a small smile and went back to check her schedule, reading it over and over, almost burning a hole into the paper. “Today is definitely Monday, right? It currently is 9.05am? We’ve not missed some clock changes or anything…?”

The man checked his phone briefly. “Yeah, Monday, seven minutes past nine, to be specific. Strange, huh? Are you sure we have the correct schedule?”

“Yeah, I printed mine last night, didn’t think they would change anything last minute, but apparently I was wrong.”

“Well, I think it’s obvious now that we’re in the wrong room. We’re the only two idiots that messed up, as well. I’m outta here, then.” The man groaned and packed his things, ready to leave. Wait, what? Hawke hurried and followed suit.

She rolled her eyes, first day and she was not only in the wrong room with no clue as to where the real lecture was being held, but she was stuck with this punk dude who didn’t seem too keen to talk. There went her idea of making friends on the first day, huh?

“So, uh, where are you going?” she asked as she followed him out of the building through the maze of hallways. Ugh, she’d better learn the layout of the building soon.

“Home, where else?” he stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You do realise we have other classes today? We could at least try and look for this one, right?” she pleaded. What would she tell her mother about her first day of university if she skipped the entire day over a mishap with room numbers?

“You go ahead, I’m not too fussed about Nevarran History, if I’m honest. Besides, it’s the lecturer’s fault for not notifying the room changes better. Not like the first week matters, anyways.” He turned to the exit door and shrugged at her before leaving. “I have a three-hour break before my next lecture, so I’m just going home. No point sticking around. See ya.”

Hawke glared at the elf’s back. Did he really just leave her alone? Wasn’t he interested in meeting people on his course? That’s what she had expected, when coming to university. What an asshole... Clearly not a people person. She was fuming, what a lousy start to her university life! She forgot to ask for the man’s name, but she hoped to never see him again. She’d just have to miss the first Nevarran History lecture, there was no way she could show up so late anyways. She hoped she’d have more luck for the second class… Maybe it was best to ask at the front desk before she made a fool out of herself again.

* * *

II

Despite her horrible first day of university, Hawke did eventually learn her way around campus, memorised her timetable and even made a few friends: Aveline had been the first person she had properly spoken to on the course, always stern and serious and someone she could count on whenever she needed to study; then came Varric, a dwarf who was always down to wind down on the weekends with a nice bottle of wine and told the craziest stories, some of which Hawke doubted were true. Still, she had to admit Varric was probably who she was the closest to, other than her roommate. Finally, she had met Anders, the sweet-talking but slightly awkward guy in her class who she happened to meet at one of the societies. He was somewhat preachy, but still a good sport. The rest of her course mates had been quite friendly as well, even if she wasn’t as close to them, she couldn’t complain about her lecturers and she even enjoyed her classes, _including_ Nevarran History.

She never really saw the man of the first day again. They only shared the one module, which was mostly scheduled in at the big lecture halls and had students from three or four other courses attending. She had stopped attempting to identify which courses they belonged to. And it’s not like she was looking for his face amongst the odd two hundred other students in the massive lecture hall, no. 

Towards the end of the semester, the lecturer reminded them of a schedule change. Nevarran History was mostly taught in general lectures, but for the last four weeks of the semester, they’d have one scheduled seminar each week. This allowed for smaller groups to talk about assignments and hold class debates, which would count towards the final assessment. Hawke shrugged it off: she was good at debates, if her friends were anything to go by. She always won every argument, and as her best friend liked to say, was usually the only voice of reason in the group. She had this assignment in the bag, of that she was sure.

At least she was, until she walked into the room and saw him. The guy from the first day! Still dressed in only black and his hair still bleached white. He was sitting towards the end of the classroom, close to the wall, and was leisurely scrolling through his phone, very uninterested in his surroundings. Hawke shook her head and mentally prepared herself, it’s not like he would remember her. She took a seat in one of the empty spots next to Aveline and resisted every urge to look back and continue glaring at the guy.

Before she could do anything else, the lecturer walked into the room and hurriedly set up the presentation on the computer at the front. The projector showed the topic of the debate, death rituals in Nevarra and the controversy over potential necromancy. Hawke took out her notes; she had messily prepared something last night, admittedly having completely forgotten about it until Anders reminded her of it.

She let her classmates talk and start the debate. She wasn’t too interested in the subject; she’d rather talk about Nevarran art and politics. The debate started getting heated, students were obviously divided on the subject and it wasn’t too long until terms like morality started being thrown around. Was it moral to mummify the dead and use them in strange rituals? What if it was so engraved in their culture that it was just part of who Nevarrans were?

“Of course it isn’t moral. Anything that tampers with the non-living has so much potential of going wrong.” That drawl! Hawke looked back to see the punk dude speak up. “Just look at Tevinter, they have let their rituals shape so much of their culture they’re now chained to them and it’s spiralled out of control.”

She wasn’t sure why she opened her mouth, whether it was her desire to settle a silly grudge she had held onto for months, or whether it was something else, but she couldn’t help herself. “You can’t compare Nevarra and Tevinter, they’re complete different countries!”

The man cocked an eyebrow at her, expression mildly amused before he scoffed. “So what if they are? Tamper with the dead anywhere and they’ll come back to haunt you.”

“You don’t know that! Nevarra doesn’t have incidents that show their rituals are dangerous!”

“You say that so certain,” he scoffed, “as if _anyone_ knows what goes behind closed doors in Nevarra. They keep the mortalitasi well hidden from the rest of the world under the guise of ‘culture’, bet you they hide a lot of nasty incidents in the name of culture as well.”

“You don’t have any proof!” She quickly scanned the notes she took the night before in search of a reference, just to show off. “Here, in Brother Genitivi’s journals we can find excerpts of how death rituals in Nevarra are done to service the living and in the most respectful manner!”

“Oh, Brother Genitivi, huh? You’ve clearly not researched enough, since Sister Petrine clearly describes how the practice of death rituals in Tevinter has completely corrupted the system and collapsed their societal functions to the point of dystopia.”

“That still has no relevance to Nevarra. What goes on in Tevinter cannot be applied to Nevarra! Someone that so carefully plans and celebrates his death as something sacred surely cannot be evil, huh?”

“You are a fool if you think that-“

“Enough!” The lecturer interrupted them. The rest of the class had grown silent, incredulously watching the heated exchange between both students. “Must I remind you that this is a friendly debate? We are not in high school; we do not need to retort to insults to make our point!”

“-You are a fool if you think that having good intentions is the only thing needed to save a country from corruption. The road to hell was paved with good intentions.” The man blatantly ignored the lecturer. Hawke wasn’t about to step down and let him win the argument.

“You are the fool yourself for refusing to acknowledge and learn other country’s customs. The way other countries handle death is just as intriguing and bizarre as Nevarra’s, I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal out of this.”

“I said _enough_!” The lecturer was indignant. “Both of you, if you’re going to disrupt the class like this, I must ask you to leave.”

Hawke’s face went bright red. She couldn’t believe the scene she had caused, but she was too prideful to sit down and swallow her embarrassment, so she hastily took her things and made her way towards the door. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. The elf simply shrugged and threw his notebook inside his sling bag before exiting the room.

Once they were both outside, she turned to him and gave him the iciest glare she could. “How dare you! You’ve made us both look like fools!” This was the second time she found herself disgruntled by this man.

“I’m sure they’ll forget about it by the end of the week. They should thank us, they were dying of boredom, you could tell from their faces. I bet you we made their day.”

Hawke curled her fists and resisted the urge to punch that smug grin from his face. “Oh, shut up, Mr. I’m-too-cool-for-class. If you find this module so horrible just stop showing up, there are _others_ who find it interesting.”

He had the nerve to laugh at her. “Come on, you cannot be seriously admitting that you find Nevarran History fun? You can learn any of that stuff from any book and save yourself the agony of sitting through his lectures. The only reason I come is because the attendance is monitored, I’d be out of the door if it wasn’t.”

Hawke had to admit the guy was right. Still, it didn’t excuse the embarrassment she’d just been put through. “Ugh, I’m not going to sit here and continue arguing with you. I’m going home.”

When she got home, she was greeted by her flatmate’s smug grin. “Anders told me about your little debate today! I cannot believe it!”

“Shut up, Isabela, I’m not in the mood.”

* * *

III

The third time Hawke saw the infuriating man, she had had her nose buried inside a book for at least an hour. Her laptop had been left forgotten on the table, which she had claimed as rightfully hers, for the entirety of it was covered with her stuff. Her pencils were strewn across the surface, a few crumpled up pieces of paper here and there and a pile of books towering in front of her. She had been working on her final submission of the semester since late afternoon. Her head hurt, she was hungry and in a bad mood, but she kept at it. She was stuck trying to understand one of the assignments and couldn’t get her mind wrapped around it. It was discouraging.

She stretched briefly, accidentally activating her laptop screen, the brightness blaring against her eyes and momentarily blinding her. Once her eyes adjusted, she noticed the time, 3am. Oh. That certainly explained the lack of people around her. She heard some rustling from behind one of the shelves and her heart almost gave in. Had she been locked inside the library?

No, no. Finals week. The library was open 24 hours. Still, it was eerily quiet, so the rustling distracted her and she found herself unable to get back to her reading. Well, she could use a little distraction and she most definitely needed a break.

She made her way to the vending machine in one of the corners of the library and waited for her coffee to finish preparing. She was tired, but even crappy machine coffee would be appreciated. She saw a flash of white from the corner of her eye and her heart stopped. No, it must have been her mind playing tricks on her, she was exhausted after all. Library ghosts were silly rumours, staples of any old university.

“I see you’re struggling with final assignments too, huh?” she heard a voice behind her and she screamed. The man behind let out a shriek in response, startled and clearly not expecting her reaction.

Hawke recognised that pitch. She turned around and came face to face not with a ghost but the punk man she kept seeing in the most unfortunate situations. He was also startled, recovering from the scare.She had never been this close to him. How come she had never noticed how green his eyes were? Or the strange white tattoos that flowed from his neck, obscured by his navy hoodie.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you there.” She let out a nervous giggle. “I think exhaustion has taken its toll on me, I thought you were a ghost.”

“That certainly explains the scream, yes.” He said, “I’m glad you finally recognise the ill-effects of death rituals, namely, ghosts.”

Hawke couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, you got me. Nevarra had it wrong all along. Who’d have thought a library encounter at three in the morning would have taught me otherwise.”

“It could have been worse; it could have been a real encounter with a Nevarran ghost.”

He had no right to be funny, Hawke thought. It was unfair. She turned to pick up the coffee. “I’d be really intrigued to find a Nevarran ghost in Kirkwall, but you do you.”

He chuckled and shrugged, grabbing a packet of crisps from the vending machine. “Are you stuck on the history assignment as well? I couldn’t help but notice how intensely you were reading those books earlier.”

Had he been watching her? “Oh, no, no, I finished that assignment last week. I’m currently working on International Trade, but it’s about Seheron and Qunari and I struggle with the Qunlat translations.”

He perked up, traces of tiredness lifting from his face. “Oh, I can help you out with that. I studied Qunlat for many years, I’m quite fluent in it. Show me what you’re struggling with.”

Hawke was taken aback. “You speak Qunlat? That’s… odd, hardly anyone outside of Seheron speaks it.”

His eyes looked distant, almost hurt. “Ah, I found myself in Seheron in my childhood. It’s not so hard once you master a few words, Qunari do not like to waste their words. In exchange you can help me with Nevarran History, I hate that module with a passion.”

“Okay, deal.” She made her way to her table and tried not to take notice of the awkward change of conversation, clearly a sour topic for him. It didn’t really surprise her, considering the fact that they were hardly acquaintances. Speaking of, she didn’t even know his name. “Oh, I don’t think we’ve really introduced each other… If you’re going to help me with my assignment, I can’t keep calling you ‘punk-dude’ or ‘Broody’, can I?”

He laughed at the nickname, and she was relieved, glad he hadn’t taken offense to it. He took a seat next to her and had a look through her scribbles. “I do _not_ brood! Why does everyone keep saying that?” His tone was light-hearted, clearly jesting. “My name is Fenris. And you, Miss Icy-Glares? Don’t think I haven’t noticed, by the way.”

Hawke blushed. Guess she hadn’t been as subtle as she’d thought with her grudge. Speaking of, why had she even been mad at him in the first place? He wasn’t as bad as she had thought. “Oh, sorry. I’ll make sure to heat my glares from now on. I’m Marian Hawke, but everyone just calls me Hawke.”

“Hawke? It suits you.” He did _not_ just say that in such a matter-of-fact manner! Hawke massaged her temples and tried to control the redness of her face; it was going to be a long night.

Oh, once Isabela found out she wasn’t going to let her hear the end of it.

* * *

IV

Since their little incident at the library Fenris kept seeing Hawke around campus, here and there, usually surrounded by her friends. Whenever she did notice him, she always gave him a curt nod, as if to acknowledge his presence. What a curious woman she was. He always nodded back; he had to be thankful to her, if not for her help he wouldn’t have passed Nevarran History. Oh, that module had been the bane of his existence!

He never got a chance to thank her in person, though. By the time their results got through the semester had already finished. He doubted he would see her again; their courses were too dissimilar, and he couldn’t think of any other module he would share with the Business Course. Oh well, such was life.

As it got closer to New Years the campus started getting quieter, most of the students having gone home for the holidays. Fenris stayed in, though. He had his own flat in the city and that was home enough for him. Besides, he had already agreed to working the entirety of Christmas, it would be impolite to cancel on his boss last minute.

So, it was a surprise when Varric, one of the regulars at the bar he worked at, showed up on Christmas Eve with a group of people trailing behind him. He immediately recognised Hawke as she walked in; she seemed to recognise him as well, from the look in her eyes. Varric gave her a knowing smirk. Wait, had he planned this? He never really spoke to the guy more than what was necessary, so he wouldn’t know they sort of knew each other, would he?

He ignored the group and returned to washing glasses and tending the counter. The bar was quiet at this time of the evening, it’s not like there was anything else to do.

After the group got settled Varric and Hawke made their way to the bar counter and sat on the stool. He had no choice but to go up and serve them.

“What a fine Christmas Eve, isn’t it, Broody?” Fenris rolled his eyes at the nickname. Something clicked inside his mind, though. That was the nickname Hawke had used on him that day… No way, it must have been a coincidence, right?

“Indeed it is, Varric. The usual?”

“For me, yeah.” He turned to Hawke. “What do you want, Hawke? My treat.”

She smiled at him, but her eyes were strained, like something was worrying her. Not like that was any of his concern. “Blue Lagoon?” She said, almost questioning her words. She looked back to the table where her friends were sitting. “Let’s just bring back a pitcher for the table. We can all have some.”

“Oh well, your choice. You heard her, Broody. Your finest wine and a Blue Lagoon pitcher. Oh, with five glasses, please.” With that, Varric climbed off the stool and made his way back to the table. Not before nudging Hawke with his elbow. She sat on the stool awkwardly, refusing to make eye contact with Fenris as he made the cocktail and poured it into a jug.

“Fancy meeting you here, never thought you’d work at a bar.”

“I don’t see why you would, considering we don’t really know each other,” he replied. He mentally berated himself for the way it came across.

“Yeah, that’s true.” She went quiet for a moment before changing the subject, “I see you’re already acquainted with Varric, hope he doesn’t give you much trouble, he can be a handful when drunk.”

“He’s alright, not any worse than any of our other regulars. He’s got fine stories, never gets himself in any trouble so we don’t mind him.” He finished mixing the drinks and topped it off with some soda before handling it over to Hawke. “I’ll just put it to his tab, yeah?”

Hawke nodded. But before she could reach out to grab the jug, he stopped her hand. “Wait, uh, it’s quite heavy, I’ll handle it for you, just go back to your seat I’ll bring it over in a second.”

He just didn’t want any accidents, he told himself as he brought the wine bottle, the pitcher and the five glasses to her table. Her friends looked at him briefly before thanking him and continuing with their conversation.

Throughout the night, he got to know her friends as they kept coming to the counter to order more drinks. The bar remained silent enough that he did not mind engaging them in conversation. His co-workers could handle the other customers.

Isabela introduced herself as Hawke’s flatmate. She was a good five years older than her and didn’t go to university, worked somewhere else, she did not mention, and he did not ask. Hawke had answered her advert about needing a roommate and that’s how they got to know each other. She was pleasant enough, could hold down her drink and flirted with him a few times, all of which he tried to ignore. She eventually gave up and went back to the table.

Next was Aveline. He recognised her from class, she always trailed behind Hawke. She didn’t speak much, but he didn’t find her interesting enough to ask. She simply ordered her round of drinks and went back to her table.

He knew Merrill and Anders. They were part of one of the societies he avoided at all costs. Anders had tried to give him a flyer at the start of the term and tried to convince him to join, but upon seeing the content he flat-out refused. Ever since, the man had looked at him with scorn in his eyes whenever he saw him on campus. Fenris couldn’t really help it. He hated activists like him, preachy and always refusing to see the other side of things. He assumed Merrill was the same, had never bothered to check otherwise. He couldn’t be rude to them, but he certainly did not engage in their debates while they discussed over whatever issue on the counter.

Eventually, as the night fell, they started leaving. Aveline was the first one, carrying a very inebriated Merrill on her shoulder. Next was Anders, to Fenris’ relief, and finally Isabela, accompanied by someone she had been hitting on for the past hour. And so, with most of the group dissolved, Hawke and Varric decided to move to the counter to keep drinking. He noticed how Hawke looked red in the face and had trouble focusing her eyes on things, she was probably starting to get tipsy. He kept an eye on them, making sure they didn’t get too out of hand.

Next thing he knew, it was almost one in the morning and Hawke was leaning on her hand, trying hard not to fall asleep listening to one of Varric’s tales. His phone went off before he could finish his story, startling her awake in the process.

“Bianca?” he answered, “Shit. Sorry, yeah, give me one minute.” He hurried out of his seat and towards the exit, looking back at Hawke, who was clearly too drunk for her good, and Fenris. “Hey, Broody, do me a favour and watch over Hawke. I won’t be long.”

“Varric!” she slurred in protest. “I’m old enough to know how to take care of myself.” But Varric was already gone. Fenris sighed and rubbed his temples, pouring water in a clean glass and depositing it next to the pile of empty shot glasses. 

“What’s that?” she asked. “Vodka lemonade?”

“No, just water. You’ve had more than enough Hawke.”

“No, I’ve not! It’s Christmas Eve and I’m lonely, let me drink…” It was hard to understand her, as inebriated as she was.

“I’m afraid I can’t, Hawke. My boss will kill me if you pass out on the counter, I imagine Varric will join in as well.”

“Don’t you have anywhere else to be on Christmas Eve?” Oh, of course, the filter was gone, wasn’t it? Fenris sighed. Oh, what a long night it was going to be.

“I could say the same thing to you, Hawke.”

“ _Ouch_. Well…” she waited a few moments before taking a sip of the water, her face scrunching up at the unexpected taste. “Well, if you have to know, my mum is on holiday with her new boyfriend. And my little brother is god knows where. We don’t talk much. And you know the worst thing, Fenris?”

He hummed in response, keeping an eye on her as he finished cleaning behind the counter.

“I got dumped today. I told you, I need drinks, I’m lonely!” Her eyes were red, and he could tell she was trying really hard not to cry. He wondered how long she would last before tears ran across her cheeks.

“You got dumped? I’m sorry to hear that. Sounds like an asshole, dumping you on Christmas Eve.”

“I know, right? I’m trying to keep it together right now. It’s why my friends decided to have a party here. Keep my spirits up, they said.” She looked around and realised she was the only one left in the bar. Clearly everyone else had better things to do on Christmas Eve. “But look, they’ve all left me alone!”

“Varric said he’d only be a few minutes. Why don’t you finish your water and try to sober up for when he comes back?”

“You’re a spoilsport, Broody.”

“Oh, don’t you dare start with that nickname too.”

“But it suits you! You’re such a broody guy!” She seemed to lighten up a bit, “You know, I hated you when I first met you. You seemed like such an asshole, ‘ _I’m going home, there’s no point in me wasting time in this useless class’_.”

Fenris laughed. “Did I say that? I hardly remember.”

Hawke looked offended. “Are you telling me I hated you for months and you don’t remember our first interaction? Was all my hatred in vain?”

“Seems so.”

“ _Well_ , you’re forgiven, it’s thanks to you I passed that module.” She finished her glass and set it back on the counter with a bit too much force.

“Same to you. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I never got the chance. It was with your help that I managed to pass Nevarran History, so… um, thanks.” Hawke smiled at him; cheeks reddened from the alcohol.

“Oh, look at you, being all nice!”

She rested her chin on her palm and stared at Fenris while he finished cleaning the pile of shot glasses next to her, wiping the counter and signalling his co-workers to start getting ready to close up since it looked like there were no more customers coming in for the night. Fenris tried his best to ignore her stares.

“Look, Hawke, it’s getting rather late and my shift is over now.” Not to mention he was really tired and wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. “Wasn’t Varric gonna come back for you?”

That seemed to strike a nerve, and next thing he knew, there were tears on her eyes and she was crying about how even Varric had forgotten about her. He looked around, he was technically finished with his shift now, so he was free to go. The others would deal with closing the bar. He went around the counter and tried to rub Hawke’s shoulders, as if that would calm her down.

“Here, here, Hawke, it’s okay. Let me go grab my things and I’ll find a way to get you home safely okay?”

By the time Fenris had grabbed his things and put on a coat, Hawke had calmed down. Her cheeks were still red from crying and from the alcohol, but at least he didn’t have to deal with tears and comforting someone he didn’t really know. He helped her get out of the seat, trying not to lose his balance with the way she stumbled, and resorted to having her lean her weight on his shoulders.

It was cold outside, freezing. The pavement was frosted over as well, the last thing he wanted to deal with was a visit to ER due to a bad fall, so he made sure to grab her back so she would feel at least somewhat steadier.

“Right, it seems like whatever Varric was called for was quite urgent, so we’ll just go for plan B,” he encouraged her, hoping she wouldn’t start crying now. Hawke just nodded along, breathing in and out, the cold air probably sobering her up.

“Varric will never hear the end of this, how dare he leave me alone on the day I was dumped.”

“Right… so, do you remember where you live? Uh, that sounded way better in my head. What I mean to say is, do you feel confident enough to get on a taxi and make it home safe?” He didn’t really wish to overstep his boundaries, and walking her home wasn’t really on the list of things he wanted to do, especially if she lived far away from the city centre. He didn’t really want to have her crash at his place either, if he was honest.

“Uh, I don’t know. I…”

“Okay, well, let’s call your flatmate then. Take out your phone, I can help you find the number if you’re too drunk to see the numbers.” Hawke scowled, but took her phone out. All they were met with was a black screen. The phone seemed to be out of charge.

She let out a big sigh. “Oh man, today’s not my day.”

Fenris had to agree with her, she certainly had had rotten luck. He shrugged and fished for his phone from his jacket pocket. “Right, hopefully you remember her number, you can use my phone.”

Hawke did, thankfully. Fenris remembered Isabela leaving with someone earlier in the night, and briefly wondered if the call would ruin her night, but he didn’t care. Hawke wasn’t his friend, she shouldn’t be his responsibility to deal with, he just wanted to go home and sleep.

He put the call on loudspeaker and let it ring. “ _Hello, who is this? I swear to god, Castillon, if you’re using a different number to call me again then I will r-“_

“Isabela!” Hawke was relieved to hear her friend’s voice. A beacon of light in this dark evening.

_“Hawke? Where are you? Whose phone is this? Don’t tell me… Oh, you need to tell me all the details!”_

Fenris groaned. What sort of idea did this woman have! He grabbed the phone from Hawke’s hand and interrupted the conversation before it could go anywhere else.

“Hello, Isabela. This is Fenris, the bartender you kept hitting on all night long. Your friend Hawke is very drunk right now and has been left alone. I would appreciate it if you could help me. Can you call us a taxi or come pick her up?”

 _“Oh, that’s disappointing.”_ She mumbled, not quiet enough _, “Oh, Hawke, what has she gotten herself into this time? You’re still near the bar, right Fenris? Our flat’s not too far away from it, just go wait at the bus station nearby, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”_

Fenris hung up and put the phone away, guiding Hawke towards the inside of the bus station. At least they’d be warm inside.

“What a lousy Christmas Eve, huh?” Hawke seemed to have sobered up slightly, she didn’t slur her words and her eyes seemed more focused. Good to see the fresh air helped her. “I’m sorry we ruined your night. This was probably the last thing you had in mind for today, huh?”

“Don’t worry about it, I really didn’t have anything else to do or else I wouldn’t have picked this shift. I just feel sorry for you, you’re going to have quite a nasty hangover tomorrow with the amount of drinks you had tonight.”

Hawke laughed. “Nu-uh, I don’t get hangovers. Isabela and Varric hate me for it! Never had one, never will.”

“Lucky you, then.”

“Seriously, though. Thanks. I’ve sobered up enough and you certainly could have just left me at the bar and not dealt with me. I really appreciate it.”

“I will be honest and say I would have rather gone home and slept, but I couldn’t leave you there. You seemed quite… miserable. I’m sorry you got dumped today, but whoever dumped you was an idiot. You’ll find someone better.” He was so bad with words, but he hoped he had at least cheered her up a bit. Before she could reply, though, he saw Isabela rush into the building, hair dishevelled and wearing a big long coat over her pyjama bottoms. He chuckled at the sight, but Hawke seemed to find it hilarious.

“Hey, Hawke, enough laughing,” she coaxed her friend out of the seat, grabbing her arm and making sure she was stable before leading her away. “You’ve caused this man enough trouble for the day. Let’s get you back into bed, huh? I promise I’ll watch some of those horrible cheesy shows with you tomorrow, so let’s get going, okay?”

Fenris stood up as well, his flat was in the opposite direction. Isabela turned and smiled at him. “Thanks, Fenris, for keeping her safe. We owe you one.” 

He shrugged her off and left. Hawke was indeed a curious woman.

* * *

V

Fenris wasn’t too sure when their friendship began, whether it was after the disaster of Christmas Eve – for which Hawke had _embarrassedly_ apologised at least ten times now – or sometime after, but he had come to enjoy their little exchanges throughout the day.

It started with a text from an unknown number, Hawke had saved his number from Isabela’s phone and wanted to thank him for taking care of her. The text replies started getting longer and longer and somehow turned into long-winded conversations.

He enjoyed talking to Hawke, she provided an interesting take on things, challenging his point of view on numerous matters. She was witty, but also considerate, something he had noticed was also true for her other friendships.

One day she asked him if he was free after class, she had more Qunlat assignments she needed help with, and in exchange she would treat him to something. It eventually went from there and they ended up meeting every Thursday after classes at the campus cafeteria. She said Thursdays were scone days and she could not miss them for anything in the world. It’s not like he had anything else to do, and he found himself enjoying her company, so he usually tagged along. They always ended up debating over something, sometimes related to recent events, sometimes completely irrelevant. He enjoyed debating with her, it brought a fire to her eyes and he liked riling her up. It seemed like she enjoyed doing the same to him, considering the amount of energy she would put into their conversations.

Fenris had started looking forward to Thursdays, so he couldn’t help but be disappointed when he received a text one Wednesday night announcing that she had to cancel her plans for Thursday, since something had come up. It’s not like he could be angry at her, everyone had their lives to take care of and he could always find something else to do. Still, it stung slightly.

On Thursday, he decided to skip the cafeteria altogether and just grab something from the nearby coffee shop. Maybe a scone or two, with a coffee to go. To keep some continuity in his schedule, he tried to convince himself as he told the barista his order.

While he was waiting for his coffee, he thought he saw someone familiar out of the corner of his eye. He turned around and, indeed, there was Hawke, waiting in one of the empty tables by the window, sipping her lemonade while glancing around her awkwardly. Fenris was curious about it. Was this why she had cancelled on him?

He grabbed his order and decided to swing by her table, to at least make sure she was alright. She was startled by his sudden appearance, and her face reddened, eyes downcast.

“Oh, hey, Fenris. What a coincidence, huh?” She gave him a bittersweet smile.

“Indeed. I was just on my way home, are you sure everything’s okay?”

“Oh, Fenris, I am so sorry. I cancelled on you because, well, I had a date for today, but as you can see, he’s not shown up.” Her eyes were slightly glazed over, and he could see a tear or two threatening to spill out. Why were all his encounters with Hawke so awkward? He felt bad for her. She let out a nervous laughter. “I’ve been waiting for half an hour, I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, I feel so silly.”

He took the seat across from her. “Well, just pretend you’ve been waiting for me. I can assure you no one else is paying attention, they’re too busy with their lives to take notice of anything going outside their little bubble.” He smiled at her and opened the brown paper bag, revealing the two scones. “Lucky you, I bought scones. It’s your fault I’m addicted to them now. Here, you can have one.”

Hawke smiled at him. “Oh, this just feels like such a big roundabout! It’s like our usual Thursday but in a different place.” She took a bite of the scone and laughed. “Man, these are so much better than the ones at the cafeteria. Maybe we should move our Thursday chats to here, huh?”

Fenris wasn’t sure what came over him, but he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. “Well, then this one wouldn’t be as special.” His face went red.

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right. We can think of this as the real date then.” She gave him a wink as she finished her lemonade. “I’m gonna order another one, do you want anything else?”

Fenris shook his head and maybe, maybe thinking of this as a date wasn’t such a bad idea. It certainly made his heart feel much lighter than thinking of Hawke on a date with an idiot who wouldn’t show up. “You’re a beautiful woman, Hawke, I hope you know that,” he whispered, and by the smile on her face when she returned with two drinks in her hand, he knew she had heard them.

* * *

I

It wasn’t long after their ‘date’ at the coffee shop that the lines of their relationship became blurred. They both flirted with each other, Hawke didn’t mention any other failed dates, Fenris stopped responding to any flirty patrons at his bar. They were around each other’s flats quite often. First for revision, Fenris had to deal with Nevarran History II and Hawke still struggled with understanding Qunari trade laws. Isabela always gave them intrigued glances whenever she caught them over the kitchen table trying to understand whatever assignment they were dealing with at the moment. That smirk, Fenris _hated_ that knowing smirk.

Then they started meeting up to watch movies and shows. Hawke mentioned a show she was interested in, Fenris came over one day to watch it, found himself binging it over the weekend. Hawke retaliated by having finished the book series he had recommended to her. They ended up meeting up to watch the film adaptation. They both agreed the books were better.

It was during one of those outings that he suddenly realised that what he felt for Hawke was something more than friendship. He couldn’t sleep for days, trying to mull over what he was feeling and decipher his heart.

Fenris started up showing up to a lot of Hawke’s outings with her friends. Even with Anders there. Varric still apologised for leaving Hawke alone on Christmas Eve every time he saw him, Fenris didn’t mind. In fact, he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit he was thankful that Varric left him alone. It had given him the chance to get to know Hawke, after all. Besides, Varric’s business did turn out to be urgent, they both found out a few months later. Something with his brother getting in an accident or something. He didn’t remember.

But while they had become such an important part of each other’s lives, they hadn’t really done much about their relationship. He hadn’t told her he liked her; she hadn’t seemed to notice either. The result was both of them trailing around the other carefully, like in a game of tug-of-war. Seeing how much flirting they could get away with before it was awkward, or they made the other person uncomfortable. He was certain he had feelings her, and he had a hunch that she felt similarly.

Still, having her show up unannounced at midnight on a Friday night was unexpected. She had her trusty bag with her and a pile of DVDs under her arm.

“Hey, I figured you weren’t doing anything tonight. I know, I should have called beforehand, but Isabela quite literally just kicked me out.”

Fenris furrowed his brow, but let her in. She knew her way around his place, so she just walked knowingly to the living room and plopped on the couch, dropping her things unceremoniously on the floor.

“What do you mean, she kicked you out? Do you have no other place to stay?” He was slightly concerned. Isabela was brash, but she wasn’t cruel.

“Oh, nothing of the sort. Her words were _‘I’m bringing two old friends home and knowing us, it’s gonna get really loud in here. One of them is a bit shy, though, I think it would really ease her mind if there was no one else around. So, for her sanity and mine, would you just leave us for the night? I’ll make it up to you, I promise!’_ ” Hawke’s Isabela impression was quite spot on. “I believe she then added ‘ _Maybe go to that elf’s house and you can finally stop dancing around each other, relieve some of that tension you have,_ I’m _starting to feel it, you know?’_ ”

Fenris laughed. So, Isabela had noticed. By the looks of it, Hawke had too. “Relieve some of that tension, huh? Isabela never keeps anything quiet, does she?”

“I like her free spirit, maybe I should be more like her.” Hawke smiled at him and then looked through the collection of things she had brought.

“I like you as you are, Hawke. Don’t change.” He took a seat next to her. He felt her shoulders tense up from the proximity.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on it.” Carefully she laid her hand on his. “So, should we do something about this tension Isabela keeps mentioning? Or would you rather watch another documentary on Nugs? Maybe revise Introduction to Nevarran History, just for old time’s sake?”

He chuckled and knocked the DVD boxes from the couch before leaning into her, tentatively going in for a kiss, brushing her lips as if to ask if it was okay. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not do either of those things. Listen, Hawke, lately I haven’t been able to think of little else but you. If it’s alright with you-“

Hawke interrupted him by going in for another kiss, shutting him up and burying her hands in his white hair. He could feel her chuckle against his lips and he ended up smiling against hers. They were left breathless. “Isabela was right. We have a lot of tension to resolve, don’t we? Why don’t we get started?”

**Author's Note:**

> I found myself thinking, if Fenris and Hawke were university students, what subject would Fenris hate? And I honestly don't know why I decided it would be Nevarran History, but there it is.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
